It is known that substrates, including fabrics made of natural or synthetic fibers, may be coated with aqueous emulsions containing a diorganopolysiloxane having terminal SiC-bonded vinyl groups, an organopolysiloxane having at least 3 Si-bonded hydrogen atoms per molecule and a catalyst which promotes the addition of Si-bonded hydrogen to vinyl groups. These aqueous emulsions may also contain thickeners and agents which delay or retard the addition of Si-bonded hydrogen to vinyl groups at room temperature. (See British Pat. No. 1,541,801 to Wacker-Chemie GmbH.) In contrast to the coatings known heretofore, the coatings of this invention exhibit better water-proofed properties, are more hydrophobic, are more resistant to abrasion, and are more resistant to washing and cleaning.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a process for coating substrates. Another object of this invention is to provide a process for coating substrates to impart water-proofed properties thereto. Still another object of this invention is to provide a process for coating substrates to enhance their resistance to abrasion. A further object of this invention is to treat a substrate with an aqueous emulsion to improve the water-proofed properties of the treated substrate. A still further object of this invention is to treat a fabric with an aqueous organopolysiloxane emulsion which is capable of being crosslinked to form a coating thereon.